Ah. While watching this I thought to myself
this sure feels like a Wong Jing film but it is directed by Taylor Wong who
was behind some solid films - Spiritual Love, Rich and Famous, Tragic Hero,
Return of the Deadly Blade. Oh, and a film in 1982 called Buddha's Palm.
But the scattershot style of this film has Wong Jing written all over it.
Literally as it turns out since he wrote the script.
The title of the film is a bit misleading.
At least it sure fooled me since there is really no kung fu or acrobatics
in it of any note. The translated Chinese title is much closer to the mark
- Modern Buddha's Palm - as it is in an idiotic way a salute to the old
Buddha Palm films of the 1940's and 50's (with a few clips of old films
that open this movie) in which the characters waved their arms around and
low tech special effects did the rest.
This though is an out and out comedy that
jumps around like a man getting electric shock from one scenario to another
with no logic. Admittedly though it does hit the mark from time to time
and cracked me up. Throw enough pies at the wall and a few will stick. It
stars Andy Lau who looks like he is a somnambulist - sleep walking through
the role - and this is probably the case. Back in those days Lau was famous
for often working on two to three different films at the same time - one
in the morning, one in the afternoon and then one late at night. He is teamed
up with Nat Chan which should immediately cue one in that this will be a
silly comedy - no subtlety allowed.
They go off on a work assignment to the
hinterlands of China - throw in a few Mainland insults of course as HK film
could get away with back then - and after some misadventures fall into a
cave full of snakes (bite on the ass coming up of course) and skeletons.
They eat a pill which gives them Buddha Palm powers and they discover two
maidens who have been in suspended animation for 700 years. Lucky them that
one of them is the stunning Joey Wong with her servant Cutie Mui. She had
been a princess. In the cave also in suspended animation is the villain played
by Yuen Wah. Yuen Wah. That gave me hope that there would actually be some
amazing martial arts as he is one of the best. No such luck - the best we
get is him dancing while watching TV, which he becomes addicted to.
The two men and two women go back to HK
and play house - Nat sees the stomach of Cutie Mui and is obliged to marry
her - but as Andy says "At least she is a virgin. You won't find many of
those in HK". Yuen Wah comes looking for them and the Buddha Palm starts
going on. And the hijinks continue. Of note are two parts - one played by
Lau Shun who was the Eunich in Swordsman and as Nat's father the great Walter
Tso Tat-wah who was in about a million of those martial art films of the
40's and 50's often portraying Wong Fei-hung.
Once you reconcile yourself to the fact
that this is not a legit martial arts film but just more Wong Jing nonsense
it is a lot more palatable and even moderately amusing at times.
